


Handful

by HiddenEye



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Canon Compliant, Established Relationship, Fluff, Galra baby, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, The team adopts a baby, futureverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-25
Updated: 2017-02-25
Packaged: 2018-09-26 19:53:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9919850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HiddenEye/pseuds/HiddenEye
Summary: Keith pinched the bridge of his nose. “Okay, if you're a purple baby who just discovered the concept of moving from one place to another on your own, where would you be?”-A mission that was supposed to be easy swerved into a loop when Keith found something buried deep under the debris, one that made the team think of building beds, baby-proofing every corner of the castle, and thinking of ways to calm down a clingy Galra.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Since there were so many baby headcanons going around in the fandom, I decided to write one of my own because I'm a sucker for them
> 
> Not beta'd, sorry for any mistakes and enjoy!

Buried.

That was where Keith found salvation.

The warship was already collapsing upon itself when Keith ran his blade across the last of the sentry’s neck, not even waiting for it to hit the floor when he managed to vault away from the collapsing ceiling just in time, pieces of metal colliding and screeching under its own weight as they engulf the dead droids out of sight.

Huffing out in relief, his eyes searched the stretch of the hallway in front of him; wary and exhausted, and yet alert for any trouble. “Pidge,” he called out through their coms, and he was able to hear himself heaving out breaths within the confinements of his helmet. “If we don't get out of here now, we're dead meat.”

“We can't leave yet,” Pidge responded back, the sound of her bayard slicing through something was alarmingly close to her face. “We still have to find the prisoners, they're _still_ in here.”

“Then, we better hurry,” he began running down the empty place, because among the disaster that was unfurling around him, his sensors picked up something that was calling for his attention. “And I found someone near my wing, I'm going to check it out.”

“You're way off from where the prisoners are actually located,” she snapped, impatient as more sentries began crowding onto her while she fought with tooth and nail. “You _know_ that, we can't waste anymore time-”

“Those prisoners could be separated without us knowing,” he dodged more falling debris, and he tried to fasten his pace. “And we both know they’re nearer towards your way, call me when you get hold of them so that I can help you send them off.”

“But-”

“There's _life_ over here, Pidge,” he growled, turning into the corner as he saw the door, his sensors honing onto it as his helmet beeped excitedly. “And we both know all the Galra retreated the moment they bombed the ship, this place might hold someone else we don't know.”

They shouldn't have gone alone, they should have just brought the team with them.

It was assumed it would be an easy mission, where they were supposed to get the few prisoners that were kept hostage inside the ship before the two of them would send them off safely in a pod and to the castle. The plan backfired when one of the Galra that was still loyal to Zarkon decided to destroy the engines before they abandoned everything, preferably to flee rather than to face the green lion, sending the sentries to do the work for them.

“I'm sorry, yes, we can't abandon anyone.” She pushed the body of a druid off her with a grunt. “But, you have to hurry. We have at least sixty ticks before we'll become paladin pancakes.”

“I'll try what I can.”

Keith slashed through the doors, gritting his teeth while his sword easily cut through the metal as he made a crude version of his own passage, kicking the last of the cut remains away before he squeezed through the small space.

Burst pipes fell off the ceilings planks, dust floating in the air as his sensors continued to inform him that there was, in fact, someone breathing in this room as he squinted through the thick haze, carefully picking his way in.

“Hello?” The ship moaned as Keith frantically searched his way through the mess, eyes darting towards the gaping hole above him. “Is anyone here?”

The piled pillars at the end of the room took most of the floor, some of the sharp broken pieces pointing upwards as they stacked among each other, almost as if it was acting as a misshapen cage.

What he didn't expect was the heat waves emanating from the cluster of wreckage, and that it was impossibly small for anyone that was supposed to have the same body mass as he did.

There was no way anyone could survive in there.

But he saw what he was led to, and this was no illusion. Even if it was, his mind certainly took a dark turn to cook up something as horrible as imagining them dying.

 _No_ , he furiously shook his head, there was _really_ someone breathing under all of that mess and he was going to get them out.

The thought made Keith dematerialised his bayard, slipping his hands in between the cracks of those pillars to have a firm grip as he knew he had to save them; he couldn't live with the fact that he should've done something when he could, not when there was a heartbeat working weakly right in front of him.

Planting his feet on the ground, he began pulling apart the pillars, trying to crack it open like an egg through clenched teeth.

“Come _on_ ,” he hissed, feeling the way it shifted under him while his muscles strained with effort. Activating his jetpacks, he gave one last heave before one of the pillars broke free.

He did it again with another, and the hole he made was enough for him to shimmer in to search what he was looking for.

It was a small pod, and he didn't think twice to grab it with both hands and pulling it out quickly before the debris came crashing down the same place he had been, rushing to fill in what little space there once was.

He took a deep breath to calm the clatter in his heart, blinking at the settling dust while the thought he was so close to not making it was already clutching onto his shoulders. He shook it off, and took a peek on the screen to see what he saved, only to feel air being snatched away at what lay inside.

It was a Galran child, no smaller than a human two year old.

Its eyes were closed while the child was swaddled with what looked like a thick blanket, hands curled up on its stomach while the tuft of dark hair fell onto its forehead, looking enviously at peace while the cryopod let it sleep soundly throughout the whole time the ship was falling apart, completely oblivious that it was the only one aboard while the rest of its kind had already left.

Now an orphan, he realised with a pang.

He could think off a lot of reasons to why it was left here without anyone worrying over its well-being, and he didn't know what to feel at all the possibilities this baby were forced to meet at such a young age.

A abandoned frozen baby that was going to die with Keith if they don't get out of that ship soon.

“Keith!”

His breath hitched from the force of her shout before he had a chance to stop himself, but quickly took a grip before he answered, albeit somewhat shakily, “Pidge.”

“The prisoners are on the pod and already on their way to the castle, I couldn't wait for you if we wanted them safe out of here,” she said, not noticing his reaction. “I got your location and I'm on my way to pick you up. Give me ten ticks.”

“Copy,” he replied, staring through the pod, watching the way the small chest rose and fell with every breath taken.

How was he going to do this? Drag the pod with him and go? It was too heavy, they wouldn't make it in time if he didn't grab the baby only.

All he knew was that leaving it behind wasn't an option.

The stats showed the condition of the Galran child as it should be, excluding the fact that its heartbeat was slowed down to let it stay unconscious until someone was supposed to take it away and wake it up, mostly somewhere that was actually safer for an infant rather than where he was at the very moment.

He tapped the screen before the lid slid open, letting him feel the remains of the cold air the pod was set into as he scooped the bundle into his arms, where the baby still remained asleep just as the green lion punctured a hole at the other end of room, almost purring at him in greeting.

“Ride’s here.”

Tightening his hold, he began making his way towards the lion. “Pidge,” he called out, curling around the baby in his arms when a shower of small rocks began raining onto him. “I found something.”

“I thought you said you found some _one_ ,” she interjected as he began stepping into the mouth of the lion. “Because you said there were heatwaves and everything.”

“Well, yeah,” he paused, peaking down as the green lion's jaw snapped closed before it retracted from the ship, flying away to prevent anymore accidents. “It's,” gnawing onto his bottom lip, he released a rush of breath. “It's not what I'd expect, I guess.”

“What is it?”

Readjusting his grip onto the bundle, he began his descend towards the helm. “I think you need to see this for yourself, I'm coming up.”

“Is it dangerous?” She asked cautiously, clearly still tensed from the battle she had to deal with.

“If brought up with the type of hierarchy Galra had been dealing with for the past ten thousand years, I'd say yes,” the castle was already in sight when he stepped into the cockpit, where Pidge was beginning to contact the others as her fingers flew over the holograms.

“What does that-?” she stopped when he stood beside her, eyes landing on the bundle he held in his arms before snapping them towards Keith with an incredulous look. “Is that-?”

“Yeah,” tugging onto the blanket, he showed her more of its face, and Pidge gaped when she saw the way it was still sleeping. “I found it in a cryopod. I don't why and how it was left there, but I couldn't abandon it after I pulled it away from all the rubble.”

Whatever reasons that lay with this Galran child, he wasn't going let anyone else be at Zarkon's mercy even if the tyrant had died with their hands, not when that someone was innocent and didn't know any better than it could.

Her mouth was opening and closing for words before she settled for thinning her lips, tapping her finger against the armrest. “We’d have to see what the others think about this, because as far as I know, all of us are _very_ busy people and being a babysitter on top of that would be a bit of a struggle.”

“‘A bit’ doesn't exactly cover all of this,” he told her dryly, readjusting the blanket again before he realised that the Galran child was being too quiet. Alarmed, Keith pressed two fingers near its neck, and he could feel it's pulse fluttering weakly under his touch. “Pidge,” he breathed, and she straightened up at the sudden change of his tone. “Castle. _Now._ ”

“What's wrong?”

“It was in a cryopod,” he wrapped the blankets around the Galran child again, worry pricking in his sternum. “the body is shutting down, we have to make sure it stays warm if we want it to wake up again.”

Pidge didn't reply at that and quickly accelerated their pace, flying the green lion towards the hangars.

“Allura,” she called out. “We need an incubator ready ASAP.”

“What?” the princess answered through the speakers, startled at the request. “Pidge, what’s going on?”

“Trust me, princess, I don't know anything more than you do. But, we need an incubator _right now_ , if you please.”

There was a brief pause. “I'm on it.”

“Hurry.” Keith added quickly before the feed was cut off.

 

* * *

 

The reactions he got from the others were pretty much the same as Pidge, but they didn't have time to dwell on it further when Coran had ushered him to the medical wing to get the baby warmed quickly. Keith was instructed to unwrap the blanket from it before settling the Galran child gently on its chest from its place in the incubator, the rest of them watching intently from behind him.

“We’d have to wait for the baby to open it's eyes if we want to know its gender,” Allura murmured in front of him, gaze latched onto it as Coran closed the top, fiddling with the settings until the machine started to work; soft blue light glowing onto the small body. “Galran infants have a specific kind of eye colour; dark blue for boys, grey for girls. They would change to yellow once they've reached a couple of feebs.”

“So, it'll be like a year plus old for a human baby,” Hunk deduced with a slow nod, and Keith was able to see the way the wheels in his brain spinning when the man directed his gaze towards him. “And you said you found this lil’ guy under all the mess?”

“With a cryopod,” Keith agreed, dragging a hand down the side of his face when fatigue was beginning to settle onto his form. “I had to leave it if I wanted to save the baby from being killed.”

“Good choice,” Shiro said from beside him, a hand resting on Keith's shoulder in reassurance. “The cryopod would be dragging you both back of you hadn't.”

Keith pursed his lips. “I couldn't leave the baby alone.”

The silence that came after his declaration was enough to make him realise that they were probably making connections between the Galra child with his own past, but he wasn't going to stray towards that territory, not when there was something more important at the current moment than what was already spilt.

“It would take almost a day before the child could come out,” Coran informed them, giving both Keith and Pidge a pointed look while he began checking on the vitals. “I suggest taking a rest, if there's any changes, I'll keep all of you updated.”

Lance was already shaking his head, mostly in disbelief as he stared at the incubator. “If we have a baby on board, we're going to need extra security around the castle for safety purposes, or else this is going to be another episode of Home Alone and I honestly don't wanna know what kind of modifications this castle can offer on a silver platter.”

Pidge snorted, rubbing her eyes with the heel of her hands, glasses shrewd on her forehead. “I'd pay to see the day this kid would cut the elevator rope if none of us remembered to bring ‘em anywhere.”

“I certainly hope not,” Allura sighed. “I don't want to leave a child alone without adult supervision.”

“Adults? Us?” Lance snickered, but his eyes remained somber. “Kinda hard to believe that.”

“You're twenty-one.” Hunk pointed out.

“You're older than me by months,” he dragged his gaze away to cock an eyebrow. “And you're the eldest among the five of us because Shiro is basically six.”

Shiro shot him a dry look. “I shouldn't have told you about my birthday.”

“ _Hush_ ,” Coran poked onto Lance's arm, to which he let out a monotone ‘ow’ while the Altean gave them a stern look. “You're going to wake ‘em up sooner or later if you keep talking like this, and none of us would want to hear a crying baby at this time of the night.”

“This is _normal_ talking, Coran.” Lance rolled his eyes. Nonetheless, his tone dropped into something softer.

“You and Pidge need rest,” Allura faced Keith properly then, eyes tired as he felt. “You were unfortunate to experience that kind of trouble from the ship and bringing back an unexpected guest on short notice,” her look drifted towards the baby again. “We need all the energy we can get for later.”

“What happened to the prisoners?” Pidge questioned, arms wrapped loosely around her middle as she looked on the verge of collapsing. “Are they okay?”

“They're in the cryopods,” Shiro told her, the corner of his mouth quirked in amusement when she blinked sleepily at him. “We made sure they were okay before they got in, and they were lucky you were able to get them to safety in time.”

“Good.” She yawned, covering her mouth with a fist. “Well, if anyone wants me, I'll be in my room, unconscious.” She threw a wave over her shoulder as she made her way towards the door. “Don't wake me up unless someone's dying.”

“Yeah, I think I need to hit the hay too.” Hunk scratched the back of his head. “We've been awake for more than a little twenty-four hours trying to find this ship, and now that we did, I'd say we deserve some shut-eye.”

“Good call,” Lance nodded, following Hunk out of the room. “‘Night everyone.”

The others bid their wishes as well, but Keith couldn't look away from the Galran child sleeping soundly with its hand used as a pillow for its cheek, the quiet hum of the machine filling in the space around them.

He felt a warm hand resting on the dip of his back, and Keith inclined his head to the side to acknowledge it. “You need to sleep too,” Shiro reminded him quietly, steel eyes alight with worry. “It's been a long day.”

“I will,” Keith murmured back. “Just give me another minute.”

Shiro held his gaze for a while before he nodded reluctantly, pulling away his hand. “Don't stay up too late.”

“I'll try,” Keith replied, a hint of sarcasm seeping in that made Shiro snort softly as he went out, Allura and Coran not far behind.

The princess’s supervisor glanced back. “He'll be alright, Keith.”

Keith felt his back snapped into a straight line, surprise flooding inside him as he looked back to where they left, but the door was already closed.

 

* * *

 

He hadn't realised he fell asleep.

Keith tried to blink away the drowsiness that still clung onto his eyelids as he lifted his head from the awkward position he put himself in, a string of drool connected from the corner of his mouth to his shoulder that he quickly wiped it away with the back of his hand.

Grunting, he vowed to never sleep in a chair if he can help himself, and rubbed his neck to get rid of the sore feeling.

The lights had dimmed considerably in the medical room, and he slowly pushed himself up from his slouch as he continued to rub away the kinks in his neck, eyes shifting towards the incubator in front of him.

Only to realise, the Galran child was already shifting in its sleep.

Keith stood up to make his way slowly towards it, not wanting to startle the Galra awake as he only looked at it in anticipation.

The Galran child fought off the urge to sleep again as a soft sound escaped past its lips while Keith only stayed still, heart thudding in his chest while he watched the way it pushed itself to its back, blinking against the blue lights of the incubator.

And then, dark blue shifted to where Keith stood.

The baby looked surprised to find someone else in the room with him, but seemed to get over it quickly when his face crumpled the next second.

Oh no.

The sniffles started first, lips trembling while Keith’s mind was still trying to catch up with the fact that if he didn't do anything _now_ , the crying was going to wake up everyone on the castle-

Too late, the baby wailed.

“No, no, no,” Keith looked around frantically, and found the blanket left forgotten on the counter that all it took was two long strides across the room to make a grab for it. He began pressing onto the buttons of the incubator before the top fell open.

Without anything to contain it, the crying was now at full volume that made Keith wince at the sound.

“Hey,” he began awkwardly, wrapping the blanket around the baby before lifting him up to rest the tiny body against his chest. The set of lungs he had made Keith realised that they were no different than human babies; absolutely loud, and completely frightened if they saw anyone they hadn't met before. “It's okay, you're safe.”

He rubbed the baby's back slowly, hoping to get the Galra to calm down as he prayed to anyone hearing him to just slam a baby manual in front of his face so that he can get this crying to stop.

Incoming footsteps that were becoming louder by the second made Keith groan, turning his head into the baby's tear streaked face as he continued to sob. “You have got to be kidding me-”

The doors hissed open, and Shiro was standing there with wide eyes, holding onto the door frame as if to support himself while he breathed slightly heavier than usual, as if he just got out of the training deck.

Keith lifted his head to look at him hopelessly. “He woke up.”

“I can tell,” Shiro winced, stepping forward as Keith continued his ministrations on the baby's back. “A he, huh?”

“Yeah.”

Shiro took a careful look at him, his fingers moving away his bangs that Keith closed his eyes briefly. “You weren't in the room last night.”

“I fell asleep on accident,” Keith sighed, and opted to pace around the room as he regretfully let the touch fall away. That proved to work a bit, since the crying was already ceasing to hitching breaths and loud sniffling. “On that chair. Worse place to be, and then he woke up just after I did,” he paused. “What time is it?”

“It's been eight hours since you got back,” Shiro told him, leaning against the counter with his hands braced on the surface. “Could be worse.”

Keith snorted, and gently shushed the baby when he gave a sharp wail at the sudden jolt.

The doors slid open again, and Coran came bounding in with a skip in his step that made Keith glower at him for having such optimism at this time of the day.

Ridiculous.

“Oh, he's awake!” Coran said cheerfully, deliberately ignoring Keith's stink eye. “Well, that's considered as quick, I was hoping that he'd wake up somewhere later, but no worries! Now, pass him here,” he held up his arms, wiggling his fingers. “I need to check him up to see if his health is in perfect condition, and if he caught anything alarming during his days on that ship.”

Keith let out a breath of relief, and was about to pass the baby towards Coran when small hands gripped harder onto Keith's shirt. He refused to budge as he only buried his face into his neck, where Keith was able to feel his ears brushing against his cheek while the cries had ceased into a pitiful whimper against his skin.

“Oh,” Coran let his hands dropped while Keith and Shiro blinked at the baby in surprise. “Looks like this little guy is already attached to you to the hip, Keith. Or rather, the face.”

Keith snapped his head up to look at him with a perplexed look, but Coran was already walking towards the cabinet. “I- what?”

“We need to improvise then. Don't go anywhere,” Coran began rummaging through the boxes and bottles alike. “Since he’s only allowing you to carry him now, and I can't have you leaving this room until he's all clean.”

Shiro pushed himself away from the counter to stand behind Keith, keeping himself a safe distance from the baby as if he was afraid that his presence would appear menacing in any way, but hesitantly reached over with his left hand to brush away the little tuft of hair that keeps falling in his eyes. “He needs a name.”

Keith tried to lean back to have a look at him, but the baby wouldn't let him go as he hid from view. Keith sighed softly. “Yeah,” he peered over the top of his head, meeting Shiro's eyes. “Any ideas?”

A smile quirked up. “Why me?”

Keith tilted his head to the side, as if in question. “You're the only one here.”

Lies. Because Keith wanted him too.

“Shouldn't we wait for the others?”

“They're late.”

“They would want to. “

“Tough luck. I don't want to sound like an idiot by only referring him as ‘the baby’.”

Shiro let out a breathless chuckle, running his hand over the top of the Galra's head again. “Draco?”

“Isn't that a book character?” Keith inquired with a cock of his eyebrow.

“It's a constellation first,” Shiro pointed out. “And the only thing I could think of right now.”

Keith hummed thoughtfully. “That's good.”

“Ah ha!”

Their attention was pulled to where Coran popped up from his crouched position, holding onto something that Keith wasn't able to identify, no matter how hard he squinted. “Right, I need you to sit here and stay still because this would only take a tick or two, because I need to take a little bit of his blood."

When Keith tried to look at Draco again, he refused to look at him.

Keith hoped this wouldn't last long.

 

* * *

 

“I can't believe you nerds,” Lance began, resting his chin onto the back of his hands from where he was stretched on the couch, watching the way Draco was still latching onto Keith like a koala, absolutely refusing to let go as he stared back at Lance almost warily. “Naming him after a _character_ from a book.”

“Shut up, Lance.” Keith said lightly, shifting in his seat until he was leaning against the sofa with his head tilted towards the ceiling, hands supporting Draco to prevent him from teetering back.

Coran had informed them that Draco was completely healthy without any possible virus that might infect him after being exposed to the bad condition of the ship Keith got him out of, and that he was a year plus like Hunk had predicted the night before, canines not fully sharpened like a Galra adult would have.

Like humans, they were able to walk at this age. But when Keith tried to put him down, Draco had lifted his feet off the ground as he hung onto Keith's arm, absolutely refusing to set foot on the castle that Keith had to carry him everywhere he was going.

The others tried to take Draco from him to relieve some of the weight and make Keith rest properly in his room, but like before, Draco hid into Keith's neck and didn't want to face any of them.

“You could have named him Leo.”

“Which is a constellation too,” Keith pointed out coolly. “I really don't see what's your problem with this.”

“He's just pissed that you and Shiro get to name him first,” Pidge smirked, sprawled on the floor with Hunk beside her, where he was typing on the laptop while she had a cushion stuffed under her ribs to pillow herself from the cold floor. “Even if you found him first.”

“This isn't some competition.”

“Yeah, but think about it,” Lance pushed himself up until he was sitting on his knees. “Leo, because of the constellation and horoscope, implying that our little guy would be a brave dude with leadership skills and awesome personality, _and,_ ” he held up a finger, both of his eyebrows shot up. “because of Voltron.”

Pidge made a face at him. “You wanted to name him for a _pun?_ ”

“And for some stereotypical bullshit people make up for every horoscope,” Keith added distastefully, tearing his gaze away from the ceiling to give Lance a scowl. “Draco's better.”

“Of course you'd say it's better, _Shiro_ chose that name,” Lance huffed, falling to the side until he was resting against the back of the sofa. “You and your biased ass.”

“To be fair, we had an agreement.” Shiro remarked from his place at the other side of the sofa, eyes glued to the tab he was holding.

“Both are great names,” Hunk offered, peering up for a moment. “But yeah, I like Draco too.”

“ _Hunk,_ ” Lance groaned, slouching on the sofa with a pout, limbs sprawled gracelessly. “You’re supposed to back me up, buddy.”

Hunk shrugged, going back to his work. “I'm just saying.”

“Traitor.” Lance sniffed.

Keith looked down to where Draco rested his cheek onto his stomach, his grip still strong despite the way he was beginning to look sleepy, clearly still tired after being in that cryopod for god knows how long.

He blinked, realising something. “We don't have a crib for him, do we?”

“Now that you said it,” Shiro furrowed his brows slightly in contemplation. “We don't have anything for him. Clothes, food.”

“I’ve started on the crib actually,” Hunk beamed as he lifted his head again, before showing the screen of the laptop towards him. “I’m just trying to find some pieces that's baby friendly; y’know, the paint, some sturdy skeleton, all that kind of stuff. Luckily, there's a nearby planet in this solar system where we can swing by and get all of these stuff.”

“And toys,” Lance straightened with a grin, eyes bright. “Probably some colouring books.”

“I'm not gonna wear any disguise, just so you know.” Pidge told them, wrinkling her nose.

“Ladies,” Lance began, rubbing his palms together. “It's time we shop.”

Keith ran a hand down Draco's back, almost lulling him to sleep. “You guys go, I can't go anywhere like this.”

“You sure?” Shiro asked, setting aside his tab to face him properly.

Keith nodded. “Yeah, he wants to sleep, but trying not to. I'm gonna make him rest later.”

Shiro smirked. “Sounds like someone I know.”

“Whatever.” Keith denied, but the corner of his lips curled up.

“Do you think we can go now?” Hunk questioned as he stood up, stretching his arms above his head. “Since we’re not exactly doing anything.”

“Should be alright,” Shiro nodded, standing up as well. “We just need to tell Allura and Coran where we're headed, and then we use one of the pods to go.”

“Sounds like a plan.” With a grunt, Pidge stood up as well, tossing the cushion onto the sofa that it landed beside Keith. “I need to look for some other stuff too.”

“Try not to bring back another cow this time.” Keith tossed the words over his shoulder as they began trailing out.

“We'll be needing that cow if we're going to escape this mall too.” She called back, followed by loud snickers from both Hunk and Lance.

Shiro walked around the sofa until he stood behind Keith, leaning forward while a pair of lips pressed against his hair. Keith craned his neck to look at him properly, giving him a small smile while Shiro moved his kiss onto his forehead. “Call us if you need anything.”

“Don't worry,” he murmured, reaching up to press his mouth against Shiro's, causing him to hum in appreciation. “We'll be fine. Allura and Coran would be with us.”

Shiro brushed his nose against Keith's. “Okay. Even if there's any trouble, don't hesitate to do it.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Ass.” Shiro laughed as he backed away, giving him a wink.

“You love it.” Keith shot back.

When he looked down, Draco was staring back at him with large eyes, and Keith hadn't realised before this that they were already tinted with yellow, making the dark blue look like irises.

“You didn't hear that.” Keith ran a hand over his ears, which twitched under his touch. “Because that was gross for you.”

The only response he got was a blink.

Hearing the doors opening again, Keith glanced back, only to see Allura walking in. “They left.”

She nodded, making her way towards him. “I ran into them on the way here. Shiro said they were going to a mall?”

“To buy some stuff for Draco,” he confirmed as she sat beside him. “He needed the necessities.”

He saw the way she studied the baby in his arms. There wasn't a hint of anything that said she was being anywhere near frightening, but curious, maybe, a little awed at the fact that someone so small would latched onto Keith at first sight, and not wanting to let go anytime soon.

Draco only stared back at her. “It's been awhile since any children had been running in the castle,” she began softly, hands folded neatly on her lap. “Draco could change that, perhaps.”

“From the way he's sticking himself to me, I think it's going to take a while.” He responded wryly.

She let out a chuckle. “Yes, he's quite fond of you,” she paused, before she lifted her head to face him. “It may have to do with the fact that you're half Galra.”

He reconsidered for a while, letting Draco rest his head onto his chest again while he played with his fingers. “Maybe.”

“It's a possibility, at least.”

“Could explain this,” he wiggled his occupied fingers, causing Draco to let out a gurgle of protest while his grip tightened. “Because most babies don't actually like me.”

“Well, you're good with him,” she shrugged. “Maybe that would change.”

Keith ducked his head, doubtful and embarrassed. “Can't be too sure.”

“You'll be alright,” she assured him, giving him a smile. “Because Draco really seemed to like you.”

Shrugging weakly, Keith gently tugged his fingers free. “Hopefully, he'll get used to the rest of you too.”

“For how long?”

He lifted his head, puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“Is he really going to stay with us for the next of his life?” She asked, holding onto his look with something frail lingering in her eyes. “Are we really going to adopt him?”

“What's wrong with that?”

“I was thinking about what Pidge said,” she started, offering her hand towards Draco, but he was too busy trying to reach for Keith's until she let it drop between them. “We're all busy trying to restore everything that happened after ten thousand years, I'm afraid that Draco would be,” she stared at her spread fingers with a grimace. “ _Neglected_ , perhaps.”

Realisation and understanding dawned upon him. “You think he needs real parents.”

She raised her head with guilt clear in her expression. “I'm not- I'm not saying that you won't be a great parent, Keith.”

“I know you're not,” he said calmly. “But, all I want to know is where can we find anyone who’s willing to take care of a Galra.”

_Will they accept him? Will they accept the same type of species who destroyed planets for thousands of years? Will they be able to look at him without sneering at his heritage?_

It was those type of questions that hovered above their heads, one that made Keith thought of what would happen to Draco if they left him to someone else, of how he would be treated from the outside world later on.

“The Blade of Marmora.”

When he stared at her quizzically, she elaborated, “I've made talk with some of the members before, a couple if you will, and they had been trying children of their own for a while without succeeding,” she stopped herself, studying him carefully. “This is only a suggestion, I understand if you want to bring up Draco on your own and none of us have the right to stop you if you do.”

Did he? He wasn't exactly alone, per say, because his friends would be there for him, _Shiro_ would.

But was he ready to raise a kid?

He wasn't sure.

Looking down to Draco, he found that he was already on his way to sleep again, body slack against his own as he blinked blearily at their connected hands; small purple ones resting in Keith's larger palm, and for some reason, that struck something sharp in his chest.

“The Blade is a good choice,” he began slowly, looking up to meet her eyes. “It's a good start for him, after everything he went through.”

“Perhaps,” she agreed with a small nod. “But, are _you_ okay with it?”

“I'll survive,” he replied easily. “He needs someone who can explain everything about where he's from and what his planet looks like, because I won't be able to do that.”

It was as if she could hear his reluctance that she sighed remorsefully. “I shouldn't have brought this up to you.”

“No, it's good you told me. Now, we just have to tell the others and set a path for Draco.“

She pressed her lips together, as if afraid to say anything else before she shifted her eyes away. “Alright. After they get back.”

He nodded, curling his fingers around Draco's hand. “Fine by me.”

 

* * *

 

They learned quickly that if Draco wasn't with Keith, he would be on the ceiling.

Most likely getting used to his growing claws.

“Oh my god,” Hunk gaped at the way Keith was standing on the island barefooted, one hand holding onto a small bowl of what was assumed baby food while the other was stretched above his head to reach for the Galran baby. “Dude, did you even wash your feet? I roll my _pastries_ on there.”

“Hunk!” Keith growled, fingers just an inch or two from where Draco was hanging upside down, enjoying his lopsided view as he giggled merrily. “Close the door before he gets out!”

“Right, right,” Hunk stepped inside and quickly let the door closed, before he looked up. “Well, how's the view from up there, buddy?”

“Don't encourage him,” groaning, Keith let his hand fall to his side with a loud slap, sending Draco an exasperated look. “This is the fifth time this week, I'm starting to think we should get him a leash.”

As if he understood what Keith said, Draco beamed cheekily at him.

" _Maybe_ ,” Hunk drawled, scratching his chin thoughtfully. “We should bribe him.”

“Tried it with his toys, didn't work.” Keith grunted.

“Well, have you tried with other food?”

“What other food?”

“You know,” Hunk turned around and tugged open the fridge, pulling out a plate of unfinished cake he made a few days ago. “With sweets.”

“Next thing we know, he'll be levitating.” Keith deadpanned, shooting Hunk a look. “We're not feeding him anything sugar until he finishes this.”

“Keith, buddy, all you have to do,” pulling the drawer open, Hunk took out a spork before sliding the drawer closed again with his hip. “Is make a show of who's boss in this kitchen. Exempli gratia,” Digging in, he took a sporkful before taking a bite, making a point of making a loud moan while licking his lips. “Oh man, this is _so_ good.”

That got Draco's attention, because Keith watched the way he blinked down to where Hunk continued to take another bite of the cake while he leaned beside Keith's feet, licking on the spork to get rid of the excess cream.

Hunk looked up with the utensil still in his mouth, and pretended to be surprised when he saw the way Draco was particularly drilling down at him with those bright eyes of his, as if only noticing him there. “Hey, Draco. Whatcha doing up there all alone?”

When Draco continued to stare at the plate curiously, and Hunk followed his line of sight. “Oh, you're probably wondering what this is, right? This is cake, and it's _very_ good,” he took another sporkful, before bringing the mountain of cake up to show him. “Do you wanna try it?”

Keith had to quell any fidgeting as he tried to wait as patiently as Hunk did, where his neck was starting to feel sore from the amount of time he spent on looking up.

Then, miraculously, Draco nodded slowly.

Hunk grinned widely. “If you wanna, you have to come down and let Keith feed you first okay? And _then,_ you can have a taste.”

Draco glared at the bowl of baby mash Keith gestured at him with, before shaking his head furiously.

Keith felt his mouth drop. “ _What-_ ”

“Okay!” Hunk cut him off cheerfully, before popping the cake into his mouth as if Keith wasn't going to burst beside him. “Then, I'm just going to finish this all by myself, and you won't be able to know how this taste like because it's going to take a while for me to make it again.”

That was a white lie, because Hunk made sure everything in the kitchen was stocked up to the brim, and baking a cake was one of the easiest things to assemble. Only, of course, Draco didn't know that, and Keith was going to make it that way if it meant to get him down.

He quietly pleaded that it would work by the way Draco kept glancing from his food to the cake Hunk was eating. Although, it was clear Hunk was taking his time; playing around the pieces on the plate before taking a slow bite, all the while feigning on focusing all of his attention on the cake itself before making small sounds of appreciation at every taste.

Admitting defeat, Draco crawled nearer towards Keith, and he let out a breath of relief as he helped him down. “Finally.”

Sitting on the island, Keith settled Draco on his lap, feeding him some orange baby food while Hunk watched. “I thought he would never go down.”

“The power of sugar,” Hunk declared, and quickly pulled the plate away when Draco began reaching for it. “Ah, ah, you're supposed to finish your mash, remember?”

Immediately, his ears drooped, giving Hunk this most pitiful look while his bottom lip trembled, eyes already shining with unshed tears.

Hunk blinked at him. “Oh no. It's the look.”

“What?” Keith frowned, peering at Draco.

“Keith, he's giving me the _look._  Do something, I'm usually weak for this type of things, oh my god.” Hunk couldn't tear his gaze away, clearly enamoured with whatever baby magic Draco set on him while he was rooted to his place.

Keith shot him an incredulous look. “You were inside one of the guts of a giant worm but you couldn't take a baby?”

“No, no, no, _no_ ,” Hunk shook his head when Draco lowered his ears further, emitting a sad aura that seemed to reach for Hunk and enveloping him whole like an insect stuck in a spider's web. “This is something else, I’m hopeless in this.”

“Hunk. He's just a baby.”

“ _Exactly_. And do you know how powerful they are once they know what kind of influence they have on you? _Unstoppable_.”

“What the hell.” Keith sighed, and tried to feed Draco again, but the baby's mouth remain clamped shut. “Not again.”

“No cake for you, mister,” Hunk edged away from them, bringing the cake with him as his gaze still remained on Draco, making an effort to be stern but failing miserably. “If you don't make your part of the deal, then we may have a problem.”

It was then the door opened again, where Pidge walked in with her glasses on top of her head while holding onto a tray of empty cups. She paused at the sight of them, an eyebrow slowly climbing up her forehead. “Are you trying to bribe a baby with cake?”

“He won't eat,” Keith explained blandly, trying to guide the spoon into Draco's mouth, but the baby shook his head again that Keith had to pull back the spoon in order to avoid it being knocked out of his hand. “We've been like this for an hour.”

She frowned for a while, before lightening up when an idea came to mind. Quickly settling the dirty cups beside him, she sprinted out again. “I got an idea! Just give me a sec.”

When he glanced at Hunk, the latter shrugged.

A minute later, she came in with laptop in hand. “Right, I know we should watch this sparingly because these took a damn near long time to upload but, well, if the situation demands it,” she showed them the screen, and music began streaming out of the speakers.

“Sesame Street?” Hunk gawked. “Those things are _ancient_.”

She shrugged, switching the laptop for the tray of dishes to put them inside the dishwasher, Draco already fascinated with the show as he began consuming it unblinkingly. “The classics were a bit faster than the latest movies that came out the past few years, and the songs were all stuck in my head the other day so what the heck, y’know?”

Hunk shook his head. “You're bad influence.”

“Says the one who bribed him with cake.” She shot back.

At least, it worked, Keith thought as he easily fed Draco this time, hearing the way Cookie Monster vacuumed a cookie that was the size of a coffee table.

 

* * *

 

Keith had all but collapsed on bed after putting Draco to sleep at the next room. Dimly, he realised this was becoming a routine after days had passed, and groaned loudly into the mattress that made Shiro chuckle.

“Rough night?”

“I don't understand why he won't let any of you carry him,” his words were muffled when Keith spoke. “It's been days, he should be warmed up to you by now.”

He felt the way Shiro ran his fingers through his hair, and Keith lifted his head when the same hand slipped down to cup his cheek. “He's still scared,” Shiro soothed gently, grazing a thumb against the darkening circle under his eye. “He's probably more comfortable with you because you're familiar.”

Keith couldn't leave Draco with any of them if he wanted to go anywhere. Once he did, Draco would start crying for him until he got back, even after the others tried their best to occupy him with everything they had the whole time. Keith settled for tying a sling on his back for Draco to be in whenever he was busy with work, earning him a few teases from Lance, but it was sufficient enough that it wouldn’t occupy his arms so much when he was supposed to do something.

On good days, Draco would be left alone in the middle of clearing to play with his toys, but Keith still had to be in his line of sight, no matter how far if they didn't want to set off the water works.

“I still look like me,” Keith pointed out, resting his hand over Shiro's. “I haven't change to look Galra, but he’s still being fussy whenever I leave him alone.”

“He'll get used to it soon,” wrapping his fingers around his wrist, Shiro tugged him closer, and Keith crawled tiredly to him until he nestled himself against his chest. Shiro wrapped his arms around him, leaning back against the wall after planting a kiss on his lips. “And Galra sensors are more sensitive. He just needs time.”

“And how much do we have of that?” Keith muttered, winding his arms around Shiro's middle.

He could feel the way Shiro pause under him, before began to tread carefully on the topic all of them had been ignoring for a while. “How long do we need?”

“Depends.”

“On what?”

“On what we're gonna do after this.”

“What do _you_ want to do?”

Keith scoffed, nuzzling into his neck. “You ask a lot of questions.”

“Well, we're going to need an answer sooner or later,” Shiro informed him rather wryly.

The Blade was safer, Keith thought about it ever since Allura talked to him the other day. He knew it would be the right choice, since there were still rebels that tried to kill them whenever they bumped into them, trying their luck, and he didn't want them coming anywhere near Draco if he could help it. The only way to do that was to ensure his safety.

And what would be better than the base itself?

“Kolivan would appreciate another member in the organisation.” Keith mused.

“If he makes Draco a soldier too soon, I'll kick his ass myself.” Shiro told him blithely, causing Keith to laugh.

“Get in line.” He teased, reaching up to ruffle the tuft of white hair that made Shiro protest, patting on his mussed up hair in mock irritation.

The silence that settled between them was already dragging Keith to sleep, and both of them began to make themselves comfortable in bed as he pulled onto the covers. “We'll tell Kolivan later,” he mumbled, tripping on his words as his eyelids turned heavy. “Hopefully, he'll be okay with it."

Shiro pressed a longer kiss onto his forehead, one arm draped across his shoulder as he pulled Keith closer. “If you think it's right.”

It was the next morning when Keith was on the floor reading on one of the tabs, a large blanket spread beneath them with his left hand holding onto Draco's while the Galra was shyly playing with Lance, who was trying to pull him out of his shell with enthusiasm and praises every time he stacked another block on top of the other.

Keith saw the way Shiro walked in with a glass of plain water in hand, looking freshly showered after training with the gladiator that made Keith feel slightly envious.

It was hard to have that kind of time to himself anymore, but he quickly shook the thought away.

Shiro sat beside him. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

There was a small crash, and he looked over to where the blocks Draco had been playing with had collapsed, with Lance still holding onto a red pyramid as he eyed the spewed toys. “Okay,” he began dryly, but smiled when Draco cheered, clapping his hands together. “ _Clearly_ , your castle was a bit shaky on the side, but that's okay, we can start over.”

But, Draco's attention was already pulled towards Shiro, toys promptly forgotten when he began to stand up on his own.

“Whoa,” Keith held onto his arm as Draco started to walk. “Where are you going?”

They watched the way he was determined to move on his own, his single focus on Shiro that the man himself was starting to look panicked as his gaze darted to Keith, one hand up to take Draco from him when small arms began reaching for him.

“I-” Shiro held him with his flesh hand while Keith supported him by his other side, looking absolutely terrified that he would hurt him as he carefully tucked his right arm against himself, not wanting to touch Draco with it while the baby seemed curious with the scar on the bridge of his nose.

Reaching up, Draco touched it with his hand, almost slapping Shiro's face in the process that he flinched at the contact, too antsy for his own good as he stared back with wide eyes.

“Relax, Shiro,” Keith murmured, and Shiro shot him a wild look. “He wants to say hi.”

“I can't-” he choked out, pressing the arm tighter to himself. “My arm-”

“You won't hurt him,” Keith continued softly. “I know it, _Draco_ knows it.”

Draco continued to inspect Shiro's face, now focused on the white hair falling onto his forehead as he touched that too, patting on it carefully that made him look seemingly satisfied.

Slowly, unsurely, Shiro unfurl his right arm from his side to tentatively hold Draco, and Keith let go of his own grip on the small Galra while Shiro had most of it covered; still afraid of accidentally hurting him, of doing anything he might regret.

But, Draco had his attention on his Galra arm now, eyes brightened considerably at the new shiny thing holding him as he ran his hands on it up and down, babbling out nonsense that didn't make sense to any of them.

“He's talking to you,” Lance breathed out, sounding as awed as Shiro looked as he gazed at Draco with something tender in his grey eyes, most of the fear drained out as the Galran baby continued to pat onto the metal, testing its durability. Then, Lance furrowed his brows. “That's not fair, I was playing with him.”

Shiro let out a breathless chuckle, shaking his head in disbelief.

After that, it was easier to let the others take care of him while Keith finally got a breather to himself, where he was able to shift back into his normal timetable before he found Draco in that warship; occupying his time at the training deck, getting some naps after so many sleepless nights.

Draco was comfortable with all of them to the point he climbed onto the bed he and Shiro shared to squeezed himself between them, contented in having two warm bodies on his sides while he fell asleep. Keith saw the way Shiro let Draco held onto his hand while they snuggled together, breathing deeply as they fell asleep again.

More often than not, Draco would always be surrounded by them, where there were times when Pidge, Hunk, and Lance would be watching movies on her laptop with him, piled on each other like a small hill. He would fell asleep in the crooked part of Lance's arm or even curled up on Hunk's stomach, and always holding onto Pidge's hand no matter in what position.

It was one of the days when Allura carried Draco towards the large windows with Coran at her side, quietly telling him about Altea and Galra before Zarkon took over, when everything was at peace and ties were strong for the mutual respect they had for each other; where they were friends as they were allies, working together for a better place.

“If only you could see us then, little one,” she continued, the back of her fingers brushing against his cheek while he pressed his hands onto the chilly windows, staring at the stars in wonder. “You'll be able to feel what it's like when we lived together, in harmony, not like this.” She shook her head, as if trying to clear the thought. “But, we're rebuilding, and I think that's already good enough.”

“Oh, yes,” Coran agreed, nodding absentmindedly as he watched Draco with something nostalgic in his eyes. “We tasted each other's food and danced each other's dances and it was a merrier time, I'm sure, but what's important now we’re healing after hurting each other quite badly.”

She sighed softly, resting her cheek onto Draco's head. “It was wonderful.”

Keith thought he saw the way pain still lingered in her eyes when she passed a sleeping Draco towards him, and gave him a smile to quickly cover it up.

 

* * *

 

“Do you think we should get him those squeaky shoes?”

“At this point, I think we should.”

Keith sighed, dragging a hand down the side of his face from where he leaned against the balcony facing the ballroom, while Coran was holding onto a smaller and stuffed version of the weblum on the lower floor, squeezing it occasionally so that it let out a squeak of its own as they tried to find the missing baby. “Guys,” Keith said into the intercom, something that Pidge whipped up after that incident in the kitchen. “Any luck?”

“Uh, no,” Lance’s came crackling through. “Baby is still MIA.”

“He's not in the bedrooms,” Hunk seconded.

“Not in the hangars too.” Pidge said.

“Or even in the commanding room.” Shiro added.

“I'm sorry, Keith,” Allura apologised. “He's not at my side of the wing too.”

Keith pinched the bridge of his nose. “Okay, if you're a purple baby who just discovered the concept of moving from one place to another on your own, where would you be?”

There was a pause, Coran's squeaky toy filling in the quietness once in a while as he continued to call out for Draco, and Keith had to rest his forehead onto his clenched fists to nestle his pounding temple.

“The ventilation.” Pidge muttered, realisation dawning.

Keith snapped his head up. “You're joking.”

“Hey, he learned to climb before he learned to run,” Hunk pointed out. “And that is honestly admirable in certain circumstances.”

“Well, not this one,” It sounded as if Shiro was pressing into his headache too. “One of us should climb in there to have a look, and see if we can get him out if it's true.”

Another wave of silence passed through before Pidge heaved out a sigh. “You guys are a bunch of jackasses.”

“You're the smallest, Pidge, you can't exactly blame us.” Lance implored all too gleefully.

“Ah, yes, your personal gremlin, ready to crawl through dusty ventilations at your service.”

“It's not that dusty, is it?” Coran asked.

“Not the point.” Pidge grumbled.

It took them some time, but Pidge found Draco asleep with the mice, all of them in a cuddled pile that made her take a picture before gently carrying him out.

Allura let out a breath of relief when Pidge presented a sleepy Draco to them, who rubbed his eyes to get rid the last of the drowsiness. “Thank goodness.”

“Never do that again, buddy.” Hunk ruffled his hair.

Suddenly, the alarms blared to life, and Keith took Draco from Pidge.

“I'll stay here,” he informed them, looking at them gravely while Draco’s ears drew back in fear, holding onto Keith tightly as he glanced up. “I went out last time, and Hunk should be able to take my place.”

“Right, we should get going,” Shiro announced, and the others nodded. The moment they left, he turned towards Keith and rested a hand on his nape, looking worryingly into his eyes. “I'll be back.”

“I'll tell Lance to make sure you do this time,” Keith replied him with a smirk, and Shiro rolled his eyes before pulling him closer to plant a kiss onto his forehead.

“If it makes you feel better,” reaching over, Shiro tweaked Draco's nose, to which he scrunched it up and rubbed onto it in annoyance. “Take care.”

“I suggest you remember that too, officer.” Keith retorted, watching the way Shiro jogged backwards, grinning wildly.

He gave them a mock salute. “Will do, sir.”

Shaking his head, Keith turned the other way and marched towards his room, the small smile slipping from his lips when the alarm rang loudly around him. He held onto Draco, who clutched back tightly as he hid his face into his chest.

 

* * *

 

The only ones that got out to see the trouble was Shiro, Hunk, and Lance.

The planet they landed was crawling with rebels causing havoc onto the citizens, throwing gas bombs and torching houses alike, as if they were more intent on getting the their attention more than causing harm onto the people there.

Ask and ye shall receive, Shiro supposed.

It was almost too of an easy work, and it didn't take long before they had rounded all of them up for the natives of the planet to take action on what kind of punishment that would be suitable for them.

“Y’know, I'm not trying to brag or whatever,” Hunk muttered beside him, watching the way the guards clamped cuffs onto the intruders. “I can't help but feel this is _too_ easy.”

“You got that right,” Lance agreed in a low voice, eyeing the trail of rebels lining up to what looked like a cell. “I mean, they usually try harder than this. Just now looked as if they were failing on purpose.”

If both of them managed to confirm the churning anxiety inside him, then Shiro knew there was something very wrong.

“I have a feeling this was just a distraction.” Shiro voiced out, meeting their furrowing eyebrows.  

“For what?” Lance questioned, shoulders tensing.

Shiro tilted his head up, lips pursing when all he saw was only the cloudless pink sky stretching wide above him. “We need to get back to the castle.”

They flew quickly, and Shiro tried not to grind onto his molars while the looming castle came nearer towards them.

He hoped he was wrong.

After they parked in the hangars, Shiro almost tripped on a droid in front of the door, breath catching.

It was sliced half, a sure sign that someone had used their weapon onto them. But, the droid didn't belonged to Galra, its features a little to blunt around the edges while it was obvious it was shorter than the sentries by at least a foot.

Shiro felt dread sinking in his gut.

“Lance, Hunk,” he called into the coms, running down the hallway, heart hammering against his chest when he found another droid deposited near the corner. “Do you see anything?”

“A bunch of dead bots,” Hunk answered grimly, and Shiro was able to hear the way his bayard was activated. “We really need to update some of the systems in this castle.”

“You got that right,” Lance muttered darkly. “I'll meet you guys at the commanding room and hope we'll see the others there.”

When they skidded in front of the closed door, Shiro held up his hand, stopping Hunk from pressing his hand onto the sensor. He listened for any noises that might occur behind the door while Lance kept an eye on the empty hallways, before Shiro nodded at Hunk for affirmation.

Once the doors slid open, there were bodies and droids alike sprawled all over the floor, blue coloured blood splattered against the windows and pooling under the corpses while their eyes stared emptily up the ceiling, arms and legs jerked into an odd angle.

The stench of it made his nostrils flare while Hunk swallowed down his nausea, but Shiro picked his way through the mess as his eyes darted over the room, hoping that none of his teammates were among them.

There was a hum of weapon somewhere to his right, and Shiro activated his own arm when he swivelled to have a look, only to see Allura crouching behind one of the chairs with a blaster in her hands, features frozen with murderous intent.

“Oh, it's you,” she said, the planes of her emotions shifting into something more relieved. “I thought more of them were coming.”

Seeing her holding onto the blaster with a calm look on her face, nozzle still aimed at his chest, he made a mental note to never surprise her in the future.

Then, something shifted on her side, standing to its full height with a sword in its hand, completely coated with the blue blood until it reached its elbow. It leaned on one foot, obviously hurt while something similar to kevla wrapped around its chest while its face was splattered with more of the fluid, something feral shining in its eyes.

Shiro let out a relieved breath. “Keith.”

Hunk blanched at the sight of him. “Did you just dive headfirst into their guts?”

“There was a brief blackout before all of this started,” Allura set aside her weapon to focus on Keith, where he offered to lift his arms as she began unwrapping the bulletproof cloth from his torso, pulling something from his back -Draco, unharmed as he gawked at them with wide yellow eyes. “I suppose they managed to get in by then, and started shooting the moment they saw us.”

That was fair, because they were doing the same thing too.

“You put him on your _back?_ ” Lance exclaimed, his hold on his blaster slipping in surprise while Draco easily went into her arms.

Keith offered them a tiny shrug, one of his hands holding lightly onto his thigh.

“Where are Coran and Pidge?” Shiro asked as he made his way towards them.

“Trying to see if these rebels did anything to the crystals,” Allura answered, brushing away the dark strands of hair from Draco's face. “They left around ten doboshes ago.”

Shiro stood beside Keith, holding onto his arm when he swayed lightly. “I'm glad all of you are okay.”

Keith gave a single nod, before his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

He would have hit the floor if Shiro hadn't caught him in time.

 

* * *

 

An angry Draco was also a snot-filled Draco.

And, to their complete surprise, it was what prompted him to say his first word after two months since they found him, where he had grown significantly in that amount of time too. Coran explained that the Galra grew fast on their first few years, slowing down the moment they passed their matured age.

“Keef!” He screamed, twin streams of tears falling down his cheeks as he pounded on to the glass door of the cryopod his guardian was in; who was oblivious to the racket as Keith continued being unconscious. “Keef!”

“Okay, up you go,” Hunk scooped the Galra in his embrace in order to prevent from any accidents happening; say, breaking the glass. “I think it's time for a little nap, how's that sound?”

“No! Want Keef!” Draco started to struggle against the Yellow Paladin, trying to push away his arm. “Hate you!”

Unfortunately, he knew Keith wasn't actually taking a nap after seeing him collapsing in front of his own eyes.

And that he actually remembered what a cryopod was, and what it did.

“Wow, that's like three sentences in one go,” Lance commented wryly, spread out on the small stairs after changing into something more comfortable. After all, getting rid of bodies wasn't easy business. “And so negative too.”

“Must be a Galra thing.” Pidge snorted, not having to move from her position on the floor for the past hour.

He glanced at the Red Paladin. “Wouldn't be surprised.”

Shiro knocked his knee against Lance, who grunted at the contact. “You're not helping.”

“I observe and I make an analysis,” Lance claimed. “And it's also glaringly obvious.”

“Keef!”

“Keith faints and suddenly this kid knows all the words,” Pidge shook her head while Shiro began standing up. “Y’know, I'm starting to think that he actually knew how to talk before but just didn't want to.”

“Maybe, or he picked it up along the way,” Lance eyed the way Hunk tried to cajole a still wailing Draco without crying himself. “Only, Keith kept it as a secret.”

“Nah, he usually tells us anything about Draco. Remember when he first climbed the ceiling and Keith lost his shit?”

“Oh, yeah. _That_ was funny.”

Shiro was already beside Hunk, putting hand on his elbow to get his attention. “Maybe I’ll take over for now,” he proposed, and relief bled into his fellow Paladin's face.

“Thank god,” Hunk mumbled, loud enough over Draco, making Shiro chuckle a bit. “I don't know what to do.”

"Keith usually plays the music box to calm him down,” Shiro informed him, taking the Galran child from him, who squirmed in his hold while Draco tried to lean out of his reach. “I'm going to try that and see if that works.”

Hunk nodded. “We'll tell you when he wakes up.”

“No, no!” Draco sobbed as Shiro perched him on his hip, planting a hand in the middle of his back to prevent him from falling back while they made their way out. “Want Keef! Hate you!”

“Keith is resting, Draco,” Shiro told him gently, rubbing the hand up and down while Draco continued to cry for him. “And I think you need to rest too, alright? It's been a long day after fighting bad people.”

“No,” shaking his head vigorously, Draco buried his face into his shoulder. “No sleeping.”

“That's fine, but how about we do something else?” Entering Draco's room, Shiro made a beeline towards his bed and plucked the weblum to pass it to him, before taking the music box on top of the chest. “Do you want to colour?”

At the repetitive shake of his head, Shiro took the thick blanket beside it and began spreading it on the floor with one hand. Kicking off his shoes, he sat down gingerly to not jostle the Galran child so much, before he flipped open the box.

Unknown constellations began shining dully from it, littering all over the surface it touched while Shiro murmured for the room lights to switch off while soft Altean music began trickling out, quietly filling in the silence with its lullaby as the last of Draco's sniffles began to gradually end.

“Keith will be fine,” Shiro soothed, running a hand over Draco's hair. “Once he's all better, you can greet him the moment he comes out, okay?”

There wasn't any response but the weak nod that came with it, and Shiro reached over for the pillows that kept in the chest before pulling them towards him. Fluffing them up a bit, he lowered himself down with Draco still in his arms, holding him close while he gripped onto his stuffed toy.

“Keith's strong,” he continued softly, resting his cheek on the mop of dark hair. “He’ll get out before you know it, he just needs a little more time.” He adjusted his position until he was fully on his back, his left arm wrapped around Draco. “The constellations are all here tonight, and I bet Coran told you some that even I don't know about.”

The talking continued until Draco fell asleep, most likely out of exhaustion if anything else, and it wasn't long before Shiro followed.

Shiro woke to the sound of something rustling, and opened his eyes to find Keith, still wearing the white bodysuit, bending over him with Draco in his arms. “Sorry,” he whispered as he straightened up fully, trying to hide a wince. But Shiro noticed it nonetheless when he pushed himself up. “I didn't want to wake you up.”

“You're out early,” he said, watching the way Keith put Draco gently in his bed. “and are you sure you're okay?”

“A bit sore, nothing worrying,” Keith murmured back. “I'll be fine later.”

“He didn't seem to think so,” standing up, Shiro went to wrap an arm around him, resting his forehead onto his shoulder. “Kept asking for you.”

“Lance told me he was crying for me,” Keith held onto his elbows, turning his face to the side to graze his nose against Shiro's cheek. “Threatened to break through the cryopod too.”

Shiro huffed out in amusement. “I was afraid he would, Hunk got to him before he did though.”

Keith sighed, letting his head drop onto his temple. “He's attached,” he muttered worryingly, fingers tightening their grip. “How is he going to take it when he knows we're leaving him with The Blade?”

Shiro felt himself stiffen; he forgot about that.

“After what happened today, it's better if he's with them,” Keith continued quietly, dragging his hands up Shiro's chest. “I can't let anything happen to him.”

He was guilty, Shiro realised, and even if he managed to not let anyone lay a single finger onto the child, he still thought Draco was better off without the threat of being hurt hovering above him, not when Keith was one of Paladins with many enemies who wanted to kill him at first sight.

It was completely understandable, he knew, but overall it still made something drop inside Shiro at the decision of letting him go.

They stayed like that for awhile, until Shiro lifted his head to kiss his forehead. “We get to visit him anytime we want.”

“That's obvious,” Keith scoffed lightly, eyelids fluttering close when Shiro moved his lips to his nose. “He's not getting rid all of us that easily.”

“He'll love that,” Shiro agreed, giving him one last kiss on his lips. “Come on, let's get to bed.”

 

* * *

 

The members of The Blade were already waiting for them when they arrived at the base.

Their numbers grew after Zarkon's fall, where many joined the organisation after finding out what it did and how they would help putting everything back together. In a way, it was as if this was one of the few things to redeem themselves.

And Draco's eyes shone when he saw Galra walking around.

Shiro knew that deep down, even if he didn't know it at first, Draco actually missed being with his own. There were probably everyday rituals his parents done with him the Paladins didn't know; the littlest things, one that could easily be forgotten after a while, but would bring back the longing sensation when was faced with it again.

Glancing to the side, Draco decided to walk today, holding onto Keith's hand as they made their way towards the elevator.

And Keith had this calm look on his face, almost blank as he stared forward.

What happened last night came back to him, and Shiro recalled the way Keith had laid sideways to face Draco on their bed, playing with the toy Hunk made for him as a goodbye gift earlier that day, quietly instructing him on how to move the cube-like pieces while the Galran child listened carefully, small fingers doing as he was told.

Shiro was leaning against the wall with Draco lying on his thigh, watching them silently as the clicking sound of the cube filled in the spaces with one hand playing with Keith's hair, sliding his fingers through the strands.

“You're going somewhere tomorrow, Draco,” Keith had began softly. “And, you'll be seeing new people.”

Draco looked up at him. “Where?”

“The base,” Keith replied, pointing to a piece on the toy. “You'll be staying there later.”

Draco blinked. “Marmora?”

Something twitched at the corner of his mouth. “Yeah, The Blade of Marmora. Remember them?”

There was a slow nod, his attention pulled towards the piece where Keith had pointed as he continued to play.

Of course he knew The Blade, it was something all of them would talk about in front of him deliberately so that he would get used to the idea of it, of having Galra with their amazing organisation as they worked hard to gain what respect that was tainted before this. In fact, Draco liked hearing about The Blade, especially when Allura kept telling him about the time they fought with her to defeat Haggar, of how Antok had sacrificed his life for her.

“Keef stay?”

Shiro felt the way Keith stiffened under his hand, and smoothed it down so that it rested on his nape instead. “No,” he said slowly. “I won't.”

Draco looked at him with curious eyes. “Why?”

“Because,” it was hard to get the words out then. “I’m a Paladin, I have my own work to do while you have yours at The Blade.”

For Draco, it didn't make sense why Keith wouldn’t just stay with him, brows furrowed as he let the toy rest on his chest. “Why?”

“You'll become a member later,” Keith explained calmly. “You need to train if you want to become like them.”

Draco considered this for a while, still frowning at the cube. “Train,” he repeated awkwardly, rolling the word with his tongue. Then, he faced Keith, excitement rolling from him in waves as he beamed. “Like Keef!”

Shiro closed his eyes, something heavy now hanging in his chest when he heard the hitched breath.

“Yeah,” Keith replied, tone hoarse. “Like me.”

And looking at how Keith managed to mask his emotions as they stepped out to meet Kolivan was admirable.

The leader greeted them with opened arms, pleasantries exchanged between them as they talked about the changes that were done from the last time they saw each other, where he was leading them to a room where they would be able to have their conversation privately, two other members following them from behind.

Shiro knew they would be Draco's adoptive parents.

“I assume this is the child?” Kolivan began once the doors closed behind them.

Draco was hiding behind Keith's legs as he stared at the leader, awed and terrified at the tall Galra in front of him.

Shiro met his eyes. “He is.”

Nodding, Kolivan glanced at the two Galra behind him, before focusing on Draco again. “We want to see him.”

Keith rested a hand on Draco's back, crouching to his level. “Draco,” he murmured, trying to get him to face him properly when the Galran child only wanted to hide from all the eyes that was looking at him. “Do you want to meet your new parents?”

The only response he got was a blink.

“They're waiting for you,” he continued, jerking his head towards the members. “And they want to see you.”

The couple stepped in front, not wearing any masks as they mimicked Keith's position, a warm look on their faces as they gave Draco a small smile. Shiro realised, there was something melancholy about that expression as well, as if it had been a while since they saw any Galra youth.

Draco stared at them warily, but Keith nodded at him in confirmation. “Go and meet them.”

He walked slowly, and the couple waited patiently for him to come near them, where the moment Draco was near enough, he reached out to touch one of the member's offered palm.

She smiled at him. “Hello, little one.”

He stared at her with his mouth dropping into an 'o', and her wife chuckled beside her.

The air around them seemed to collapse with relief.

He was going to be alright.

“If I may,” Allura started. “The Paladins and I would want to say that it would be good if Draco wouldn't start his training so soon.”

“Of course,” Kolivan agreed. “We'll wait another five feebs, and even then, his lessons would start mild.”

“Seven years old,” Pidge muttered under her breath. “Okay, good.”

Shiro nodded. “Thank you for this, Kolivan.”

“We help to those who need it.” Was his only answer, dipping his head. 

Keith had stood up then, carefully watching the way Draco still explored his two new parents, intently taking in their features as both of them murmured something in Galra to him, their hands caressing any part of him as they too wanted to know more about him.

Then, Shiro saw the way one of them lifted her head to look at Keith, before talking to Draco with a nod towards his way that made the Red Paladin tense a bit. But then, Draco nodded eagerly, turning around to vault towards Keith, crashing into his legs with a hug.

Startled, Keith had all but collapsed down again to return it, burying his face into Draco's head while his arms wrapped tightly around him.

“Keef visit?”

“Of course,” he replied with a huff, holding Draco closer. “All of us would.”

Draco clutched onto him tighter. “Good.”

“I’m going to cry,” Hunk announced with a sniffle.

“Don't,” Lance warned him, but his eyes remained on them both as they parted. “If you start, all of us would and then we can't stop.”

“Or _you_ wouldn't stop.” Pidge said.

“Well, _duh_.” Lance sniffed. “Touching moment here, dude, don't ruin it.”

And then, all of them took turns on saying goodbye to him, saving Shiro for last when Draco jumped into his arms, causing him to chuckle as he held him close. “Take care of yourself, okay?”

They were going to miss him, but they would see him soon, because in the future, there would be demands from Keith himself to see Draco.

Time was swift nowadays, and they can wait.

At his nod, Shiro let go.


End file.
